4.1 Starting out in R

R is both a programming language and an interactive environment for data exploration and statistics. Today we will be concentrating on R as an interactive environment.

Working with R is primarily text-based. The basic mode of use for R is that the user types in a command in the R language and presses enter, and then R computes and displays the result.

4.1.1 Downloading, Installing and Running R

Download
R can be downloaded from CRAN (The Comprehensive R Archive Network) for Windows, Linux, or Mac.

Install
Installation of R is like most software packages and you will be guided. Should you have any issues or need help you can refer to R Installation and Administration

Running
R can be launched from your software or applications launcher or When working at a command line on UNIX or Windows, the command R can be used for starting the main R program in the form R

You will see a console similar to this appear:

While it is possible to work solely through the console or using a command line interface, the ideal environment to work in R is RStudio.